G.R. Hinsley is once again the clean-up hitter for arguably the best collegiate summer team in the nation...and he promptly gets the game winning 2-RBI single in last night's season opener.

He was left off the travel squad this weekend so he joined the Bombers, and he's well on his way to being the greatest run producer in TCL history...and he got all of 7 at-bats this season for the Aggies.

Even stranger...in his last start for A&M early in the season, he went 1-2 with a walk and the one time he was retired was on a liner to SS.

So he gets on-base twice and lines out, and he never sees the starting lineup again.

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If he showed the moxy to drive in runs in the SEC I'm guessing he would play.

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He did not register a plate appearance this season against an SEC team. Oh, and in his last appearance in the A&M lineup on April 16 in a mid-week game, Hinsley's last at-bat this season was an RBI sac fly. He also walked.

So in seven official at-bats, he drew two walks, had a single, and hit an RBI sac fly. IN fall ball, he consistently hit in the clean-up position for one of the split squads and had several big hits in key situations during the Fall Series.

Obviously, the issue was personality related in some way.

Well, this is a baseball discussion board. One of the team's top recruits this year has been productive in his JUCO years, summer ball wooden bat league, fall ball, and even in the limited playing time this spring. I watched multiple practices and scrimmages in the fall and the guy was productive and practicing as the clean-up hitter.

You call it a conspiracy theory. I call it a curiosity. And I'm even more curious when the guy once again is given the opportunity to play and he delivers...again.

It's not like big sticks Gideon and Melton were hot and simply were too good to take out of the lineup. Both guys combined hit one home run and hit about .220, yet they were given multiple opportunities to produce and snap out of it.

Yes, I do think it's an interesting and relevant topic of discussion. Had the guy struggled last fall or one of these big bats were hitting .320 with 9 homers and 44 RBI's, we wouldn't be having this discussion.




[This message has been edited by Hop (edited 5/31/2014 7:57a).]

[This message has been edited by Hop (edited 5/31/2014 8:06a).]

Oh, in game two of the Bombers' season last night, Hinsley got his 3rd RBI of the season in the his first at-bat. With the Bombers trailing by one in the 8th, Hinsley gets on-base with a walk and scores the tying run.

Well, there is new news. Hinsley is starting where he left off from last summer in a wood bat league where offensive numbers are typically much less than in the college season with composite bats.

What I was told is that the staff did not feel his practice habits in January/February were where they should have been, and thus was benched early in the season and simply his name was rarely added to the magic 8-ball when the lineup was made in those first few weeks. He was kind of the forgotten man after that, and when insiders and reporters would ask about him, the staff never gave a clear reason for his situation.

But this is relevant, because what happened to him is seen by other players and recruits, and their parents. Childress is seen as a hard ass and someone that can be difficult to get along with if you don't do things exactly his way. Now, I had coaches like that all the time when I was playing sports 30-40 years ago and it was an effective approach back then. We all dealt with it.

But in this era of elite team youth baseball where kids and parents live and breath the sport 24-7 and they talk to other parents and elite coaches, they shy away from the hard-nosed "my way or the highway" college coach because these kids and their families have been playing and doing things their way for 10 years. Like it or not, today's player doesn't want a screamer or an in-your-face coach.

So this is relevant because a very good high profile player in this state was shelved by this staff for what they (elite ball coaches, parents of current recruits, etc.) perceive is a non-performance issue. That's precisely why these elite D-1 kids from College Station are leaving town and playing for rival programs...and it's precisely why A&M is struggling to stack talent in this program.

Talent and depth....recruiting.

[This message has been edited by Hop (edited 5/31/2014 9:23a).]

[This message has been edited by Hop (edited 5/31/2014 9:25a).]

Well, given that he's a senior and is subject to the new transfer rules, I'm guessing he'll either push to get drafted in the late rounds and bolt, or he returns and both parties agree to hit the reset button.